Ever hear the phrase ‘Find
your own adventure’? Well, Jazz and I had our own this past weekend at the High
Roller AERC ride. At all my previous rides I’ve had a great support crew (Bobbie Jo
Lieberman and Kenny Weber, the owners of the horses I ride). For this ride we
had it all planned to take three horses with each being ridden one or both
days, however 2 days before the ride all plans changed! Bobbie is on ‘stall
rest’ to recover from a knee injury and Kenny needed to prepare the ranch for a
new horse arriving that weekend. But I could borrow their truck and trailer,
take Jazz (aka Dancers Southern Princess, TWH mare) to the ride on my own, by
myself without crew or support system… Challenge
accepted!
This was my first ride going by myself and to my knowledge
the first time Jazz has gone by herself. This was a big confidence
booster for me, since at most horse events in my life I’ve had a ‘crew’ in
various forms. Growing up riding 4-H my Mom was always there to make sure my
number was pinned on straight, in college I had friends to help me memorize the
jumper course and in young adulthood my sister was the one who drove the truck
and trailer. Though nervous and thinking of 100 things that could go wrong,
I made my list, packed the trailer and off we went (didn’t forget anything either)!
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| Jazz and I take a selfie to prove we arrived OK! |
The first major decision I agonized over was what distance
to enter. High Roller this year was a combined FEI/AERC ride, and they were
offering 50 and 75-mile distances along with the new Boudheib Initiative http://www.boudheib.ae/boudheib-initiative/.
One of my endurance goals is to complete a 100-mile ride and my first attempt
at 75 was its own adventure! (see previous post)
Do I stay safe and ride 50 miles or push myself and go for 75 miles? I decided
to stay safe and ride 50 miles and aim to do another 50 on the 2nd
day.
For the camp set-up I decided to sleep in the back of the
stock trailer because while I have a tent, I feel more comfortable sleeping in
a vehicle since loose horses will trample a tent. At this ride I counted at
least 6 different loose horses (all were caught relatively quickly, and no one
was hurt). At night I could hear everything Jazz was doing, eating, drinking
etc. My favorite part of the ride
happened at 1:00 am when I had to get up because Jazz had woken from a deep sleep
and forgotten where she was! She started whinnying for her herd mates who weren’t
there. With some gentle words and a calming touch, she relaxed and started
eating again. It was gratifying to know she trusted me and realized she wasn’t
alone after all.
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| Eating dutifully at the hold. |
I wasn’t completely alone either, my riding friends John and Carol were parked nearby. Carol was one of the first TX endurance riders I met 2 years ago when I volunteered at a local ride. Fellow GB teammate Erin was also at the ride, but we always seem to miss each other and rarely get to meetup, which is why facebook is great to chat. The ride itself went well. Since it was cold (40-50 F) Jazz didn’t take a big drink until after 20 miles but then tanked up. I’ve learned to count the number of gulps she takes to help keep track of how she’s doing, 10-20 gulps are good. Her gut sounds were better than ever, and she got better at each vet check. I think using the supplement Outlast played a part in her eating better. Riding with Carol and another friend Kerry helped Jazz to stay strong and motivated all day. At the finish Carol and I had a friendly race-off and I barely won coming in 7th place since her arab spooked at the finish flag! The final vet check went well but the vets encouraged me not to ride the 2nd day since Jazz could benefit from rest after trucking through some of the deep sand. Since I couldn’t ride, I volunteered as a vet scribe and got to see some fabulous horses and work with wonderful vets. It was a great weekend despite having to be flexible with my plans and Jazz really impressed me. I know she’ll make a great partner for someone, she is for sale to just the right person (shameless plug)!
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| Always buy the ride photo! credit: Saga Lifestyle Photography |
